Normalizing furnace



Aug. 6, 1929. -F. J. WINDER 1,723,109

NORMALIZING FURNACE Filed Oct. '7, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet .2

- ments, the surface of the sheets. must be free Patented Ang. 6, 1929.

UNiTED vSTATES 1,723,109 PATENT oEFicE.

FRKN' JOSEPH 'WINDERf' :BRA(JKEIN'RZ'GE,o PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE SURFACE coMBUsTroN comrANY, INC.,

NEW YORK.

OF NEW YORKfN. Y., A CORPORATION OF NORMALIZING FURNACE.

- Application led October 7K, 1927. 'Serial- Nb. 224,716.

of all surface imperfections, such' as pits or scratches. However, due, to various causes, such as rough spots on the rollers, back-lash in roller-driving mechanism and possibly Iother causes, it is a matter of great` uncertainty as to howA many. of the sheets passed through a heat-treating furnace having a bed Y of supporting rollers for the sheets will pass the 'inspectiontest' Sheetsthat must be re- .ijected represent a very materiallossto the mill, because even though they may be used for less exacting trade requirements nevertheless for such less exacting trade requirements, the special heat treatment to which the sheets were subjected during their passage through the annealing furnace would usually not have been necessary. It will also be appreciated that other'items of loss are involved in re-i jected sheets such as cost; of handling to niention only one item and also that sheets which' do pass-the inspection test are on account of thereject-ions relatively expensive.

The present invention has among its objects to provide improved Ways and means for passing sheet-s through a heat-treating furnace to the end that sheets uniformly free from sur'- face imperfections may be obtained.A -In acedge of the sheetf cordance with this invention the sheets are passedthrough the heat-treating furnace in an upright position while hung from a sup- `porting and conveying mechanismby'one of their marginal edges. The vcoiiveyingvniechanism is preferably of the form shown' in the drawings, that is to say, the conveying mechanism preferably consists of a plurality disks arranged in lon 'udinally extending series, the' plane of dis being at anV angle tothe vertical. 'In order that theY sheets may be 'hung' from the disks they are provided with a lateral support. This supportpreferahly takes the form of a wing formed in amarginal In ordinary sheet mill practice, the sheet as it comes from' the rolls has a trimming allowy ance of about oneand one halfinches. It is yfrom this trimming allowance that the wing is preferably formed. However, the wing need not ordinarily be as wide as the trimming allowance but only a fractional part thereof. A'

wing having a width of about three quarters of an inc-h has been found to be wide enough `for practical purposes. `In other words, the

bend in the sheet formed by providing the 'wing need not be in the main body of the sheet `itself but only inthat portion of the sheet which 1s eventually trimmed off. This is an important feature of the invention because by 'forming the bend within the confines of the trimming allowance, that part of the triirming allowance below the bend serves to protect the main or finished size surface of the sheetv from coming in ,Contact with the supporting disks withpossibly consequent formation of surface imperfections. l For a more complete understanding of the invention reference is made to the detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification. f

Tn the drawing's,\Fig. l isa view in vertical transverse section taken on line l-l of Fig. 5 and showing in addition to the improved sheet-conveying means forming part of this invention the preferred'manner of' heating ythe furnace chamber through which the sheets are passed. Y

has been evolved, the dotted lines indicating the trimming margin of the sheet.

- Figs. 5 and 6 taken together show, the relative lengths' of the-heating and cooling sections of the improved furnace, both views being in horizontal transverse section.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of vthe furnace-shown in Fig. 5 and showing a driving means for the conveyer mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a framgentary longitudinal vertical section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 2 and ico ica`

showing the preferred manner of supportin furnace chamber through an adjacent side the guide rail above the conveying .disks an also the interior construction of the ducts t-hrough which'cooling iuid is circulated.

The ordinary sheet as it comes from the rolls is rectangular in shape, is much longer than it is wide, and is` both longer and wider than in its finished condition by about 11/2 such means.

vao

. furnace, the wing 10 is preferably bent back inches,l to allowfor trimming. In Fig. 4, letter w indicates the untrimmed sheet and' b and b those marginal parts or portions that `are eventually trimmed off after the sheet is finished.

In accordance with this invention each sheet is provided along one of its marginal edges, preferably one of its long edges, with a laterally extending wing or Support as generally indicated at 10, the angularity of this wing being such that when itis disposed over a suitable conveying means it will not slip olf ably takes the form Jof a series of'disks 12 having a relatively narrow edge 14, whereby when the wing is placed over the upper run of the disks the edgeof each disk will be more or less confined to the apex of the angle formed by the wing. r

It is preferred to so position the disks that they rotate in a plane which is considerably inthe width of the marginal portion which isV reserved for trimming. As prevlously indi-` cated, such trimming portion is usually about 11/2 inches wide consequently the wing will be about. 3XL of an inch wide.

It` will now be seen that the shape and position of the disks are so co-ordinated with the wing and sheet that any danger of the disks forming marks or scratches on the main body of the sheet is reduced to a minimum or entirely eliminated.

After the sheet has been passed through the into the plane ofthe sheet to facilitate stacking or subsequent handling thereof. In view of the fact that the sheet is provided with the 'wing after the sheet comes from the rolls, the

The conveying means prefer-- bend is relatively stiffand hard which is a de-` sirable condition for present purposes, as will be readily understood. On the other hand,

when the sheet leaves the furnace, the bend is relativelyv soft and may therefore be readv *-ily straightened into the plane of the sheet if so desired.

The disks 12 are mounted on the inner end i of individual shafts 18 which extend upwardly and outwardly from a point within the wall of the chamber. lThese shafts are driven in unison in any suitable or preierred manner, as for example, by chain and sprocket drive generally indicated at 20. The shafts are supported for rotation on the outside of the furnace chamber in anysuitable manner,-

as by a framework generally indicated at 22.

The sheets may enter and leave the furnace through relatively narrow upright slots 24 in .the respective ends ofI the furnace chamber.

These slots will be suitably flared or bevelled to `permit the sheets to be readily passed therethrough as will be readily understood'.

As a precaution to prevent the sheets from becoming dislodged from the disks during tlieir course o f travel through the furnace, it is desirable tol provide means tending to confine the sheets in position on the disks. This means preferably takes the form', of a yguide rail, generally indicated at 26,'said rail being disposed in spaced relation with respect to the upper run of the disks. The space between the guiderail and thel upper run of said disks provides a passage through which the'bent over margin orwing of the sheet 'may freely pass. The guide rail is maintained in relatively xed position with respect to the upper run of said disks in any suitable manner as bymeans of hangers 28 aflixed to the upper framework 20 of the furnace and .extending through openings 32 in the roof of the furnace chamber. The guide Vrail is preferably of such construction as to provide an'angular hood as clearly'shown in- .the drawings and more particularly in Fig..3 thereof. For convenience of description, the

guide rail may be considered as being of inverted V-shaped form.. In the drawing the guide rail has been shown as made from T iron, this construction being 'preferred primarily for the reason that this type of iron lends readily itself to securem'eit to the hangers 28. Y

. It will be understood that the upper run of the disks are in longitudinal alinement and extend from one end of the furnace to the other. It will also be understood that the ,guide rail 26 extends in parallelism with the upper run of said disks." t

In the drawing, the 'furnace chamber is shown as provided with two sets of sheet conveying mechanisms, the shafts 18 to which the disks are securedextending through opposite sidewalls of the furnace chamber, the two conveying, mechanisms being sufliciently laterally'spaced from each other toA permit sheets to be passed throughthe furnace on both conveying mechanisms at one and the same time without interference. By providing a sheet conveying mechanism of the character indicated, the furnace may obviously be made of much less width than is required in a furnacewherein sheets are passed through in a horizontal position and consequently in addition to saving oor space, the constructional cost of the furnace is very materially reduced. It will, of course, be understood, that the furnace is of sufficient height to enable the sheets to be passed through the furnace with the bottom of the sheet elevated above the floor thereof. The present furnace construction also enables the sheets to be readily heated uniformly throughout their entire Width. In accordance with this invention the heating mechanism preferably takes the form of longitudinally extending series of burners 34 and 36 arranged lin vertically spaced relation, these burners being supplied with fuel in any suitablemanner. The upper series of burners 84, preferably fire into a combustion chamber 38, set back into the side wall of the furnace chamber. In the particular firing arrangement shown, the burners are so constructed as to direct the burning fuel on to a bed of refractory material 40, this bed becoming incandescent and giving forth radiant heat. Instead` of providing an inset combustion chamber for the lower burners 36, these burners may con veniently direct the burning gases on to a. bed of refractory material 42 at the bottomv of the furnace chamber. It is preferred to provide burners in both of the side walls of the furnace the more so when the furnace construction is such as to permit two parallel rows of sheets to be passed through the furnace at one and the same time.

The furnace chamber is of considerable length as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. The major portion of the lfurnace chamber will be provided with heating means as aforesaid, in order tomaintain the sheets at the required temperature for the necessary length of time to obtain the desired metallurgical changes in the sheet.

In Fig. 5 the letter H generally indicates the heating portion. of the furnace, and in Fig. 6, letterCvgenerally indicates the cooling portion of the furnace. In the cooling ortion of the furnace, the side walls are made liollow as generally indicated at 44 to permit asuitable cooling medium to be passed therethrough. Referring'to Fig. 8 it will be seen that a plurality of transverse tiles or the like are provided in order, among other things, to form a circuitous path for the cooling medium. Points of ingress and egress for the cooling medium will of course be provided. The particular construction of the cooling section of the furnace forms no part of the present invention and needs not to be further described. J

lIt will now be seen' that the present invention provides a relatively simple form vof sheet conveying means whereby the sheets are A enabled to be held in suspended position during their passage throughthe furnace chamber. By passing the sheets through the furnace chamber in Wherein a horizontally Idisposed bed of rollers is provided, not only must the roller supv porting shafts be of a length to extend across the entire width ofthe furnace, but there must also be provided on each shaft, a considerable numberof rollers in order to form suitable support for the sheets. This is in very great contrast to the present invention which requires but a single disk for each shaft and which requires `but a relatively short shaft, for each disk.

Other desirable features resulting vfrom this invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

The manner herein disclosed of passing the sheets through anannealing furnace is believed to be basically new in the art.

What is claimed is- 1. The combination with a longitudinally extending chamber, of a series of shafts extending from within the chamber upwardly and outwardly through a side wall thereof, a disk mounted on the inner end o f each shaft, the tops of the disks being longitudinally alined, said disks serving as a supporting andconveyingmechanism for sheets hungthe tops of the disks being longitudinally alined, a guide rail extending lengthwise above the disks in spaced relation therewith, said disks serving as a supporting andconveying mechanism for sheets positioned between the rail and disks.

3. The combination with a longitudinallyl extending chamber, of a series of shafts extending from within the chamber upwardly and outwardly thereof, a disk mounted on the inner end of each shaft, the upper run of the disks being in a straight line, an angle guide rail disposed over the disks in spaced relation therewith whereby a passageway is formed therebetween for the passage of sheets hung on said disks.

4. The combination with a longitudinally extending. chamber, of a series of disks within the chamber having their upper run in astraight line and having their faces arranged in an oblique plane, means for supporting said disks, and means exterior of said chamber for rotating the'disks, said disks constituting a conveying mechanism for objects suspended therefrom.

5. The combination with a chamber, of

the manner herein disclosed, two laterally spaced series of disks extending 11j`0 longitudinally of the chamber, the opposed a longitudinally extending seriesof relative-- faces of said disks forming an acute angle' between them, the upper -run of the disks constituting a conveyer for-objects hung therefrom, and .means for supporting said 'disksl 6. The combination of means forsupport# ing and conveying sheets in-an upright position where the sheets are provided with a bent-over marginal edge, said means comprising a longitudinally. extending run of disks rotatable'inv a plane which is inclined to the vertical, said disks b einof adapted to supl port the sheets from their x'bent-over mar nal edge, and supporting means for the dis s comprising individual shafts therefor' extending from one. side of the disks. 7. conveyertor'metal sheets comprising ly sharp edged disks on which said sheets may be' hung for travel lengthwise of said series, and means for supporting saiddisks for rotation in a plane making'an acute an# gle with the sheet suspended on the disks.

8; A conveyer for cpnveying metal sheets provided with a laterally bent wing, comprising a longitudinally extending series of disks may i on the upper runof which. said win be supported to hold the sheet in uprig t position, and means for supporting said disks for'rotation in a plane making an acute angle with the sheet suspendedl on the disks.

In'testimony whereof aHiX my signature.

FRANKJosEPH WIINDER.' 

